Humble pitcher gets third hall of fame induction

A former Aboriginal baseball star is about to become a hall of famer once again.

Jimmy Rattlesnake, a pitching star from the 1930s through the ’50s, will be inducted posthumously into the Wetaskiwin and County Sports Hall of Fame.

Induction ceremonies will be held Mar. 26.

Rattlesnake, who was Cree, was born in Hobbema in 1909. He died in 1972.

This is the third hall of fame Rattlesnake will be in. He was previously inducted into halls in Red Deer and Edmonton.

“Of course it’s a huge honour for our family,” said Rattlesnake’s daughter Phyllis, one of eight of his 10 children who are still alive.

All eight surviving Rattlesnake children are expected to attend the induction ceremony. Several of his grandchildren will also go.

One of the grandchildren is also named Jimmy.

“There’s a striking resemblance there,” Phyllis said of her late father and nephew. “They could be twins.”

Phyllis would like to see her nephew play a key role at the induction ceremony.

“I would like him to go up and accept the award,” she said.

Neither Phyllis nor her siblings know much about their father’s illustrious baseball career as he starred before any of them were born. Plus, she added, he was a humble man who did not talk much about his playing days.

What is known, however, is that during the 1930s, Rattlesnake was invited to a New York Yankees’ spring training camp. Though club officials were allegedly interested in having him on their roster, the belief is he didn’t like New York City and returned home.

For the next two decades he was considered one of the top pitchers in western Canada and shone for teams in Alberta and Saskatchewan at numerous tournaments.
Among the clubs he suited up for were the Wetaskiwin Braves, who were crowned as the Alberta senior amateur baseball champions in 1935.

This marks the sixth year of inductions into the Wetaskiwin and County Sports Hall of Fame. The hall is located inside the Wetaskiwin Civic Centre.

Hall president Bill Milnthorp said Rattlesnake had been nominated several years ago. But the fact it has taken about a half a decade to induct the former baseball star should not be viewed as any sort of slight.

“He’s been sitting on the backburner for quite some time,” Milnthorp said. “But he is most deserving (of this accolade).”

Milnthorp said there were about 25 nominations when the original call for hall nominees went out six years ago.
“And each year we get new nominees,” said Milnthorp, adding hall officials want to limit the number of new inductees to six or seven annually. “We still have a handful of nominees. In due time we will induct them. It just takes time to get caught up.”

Rattlesnake is one of four individuals that will enter the hall this year via the athlete category.

A girls’ volleyball squad is also to be inducted. And two others will be honoured, one through the builder category and an individual through a special award category.